Queensryche truly delivered a masterpiece with their third album and signature release Operation: Mindcrime. Originally presented to the fans in 1988 this album raised the bar of Progressive Metal to levels that have yet to be matched or surpassed. The songs have withstood the years and with this DVD recorded in 1991 Queensryche takes the entire album to the concert stage. Operation: LIVE Crime is an excellent video and presents to the viewer the Mindcrime album the way it is supposed to be experienced; in it's entirety from beginning to end. The album is quite possibly the Metal genres own Dark Side Of The Moon or The Wall and the video combine some animations shown on screens above the band along with their energetic performance and drama to a great result. The production is very clear on this and the photography on target but since this is from 1991 there are some limitations in the overall video presentation. It is a straight visual of the show and while you have some great close ups there is no option to switch angles or players or things that come out in today's DVD's. The full original Queensryche lineup is present with Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton, Chris DeGarmo, Scott Rockenfield and Eddie Jackson who were still incredibly hungry with this release and perform it as such. The band is complimented by the lovely Pamela Moore on "Suite Sister Mary" as she was also on the album. I enjoyed seeing one of my favorite albums live so much that it's difficult to pick out my favorites. However I always seem to lean to "Eyes Of A Stranger" and "I Don't Believe In Love" the most.
There are some cool bonus features such as the "Story Of Mindcrime" which is the DVD's representation of the original booklet that accompanied the CD version of this recording. This was originally part of a limited edition boxed set and was before the dawn of DVD's. There is also an interview with Geoff Tate and some Easter Eggs which I could not find. I think that this stuff should just be made available easier now instead of making people go searching. Research found me discovering that there are audio versions of "Road To Madness" and "Lady Wore Black" but there is no video for them. This DVD is among the highest recommendations I could make and believe me you will not turn it off until it completes.
"I Remember Now" …
Track Listing
- I Remember Now
- Anarchy-X
- Revolution Calling
- Operation: Mindcrime
- Speak
- Spreading The Disease
- The Mission
- Suite Sister Mary
- The Needle Lies
- Electric Requiem
- Breaking The Silence
- I Don't Believe In Love
- Waiting For 22
- My Empty Room
- Eyes Of A Stranger